The Fire Within: The Valentine Incident
by The Mayor of Ninjago City
Summary: The red ninja and his love interest, a cute college girl named Sam, make plans to celebrate their first Valentine's Day as a couple. But what happens when an evil sorcerer shows up, seeking to avenge his father's expatriation to the Cursed Realm? This story is a part of the "The Fire Within" series, which was originated by measuremesky. She gave me permission to use her material.
1. A Villain Appears

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Howdy! This is The Mayor of Ninjago City with a brand new story in honor of Valentine's Day which, as of today, is just a little under five weeks away.**

 **This short story is based on the great fanfic authored by measuremesky:** _ **The Fire Within**_ **. It can be found on this website.**

 **The story you are about to read below takes place just a few months after _The Fire Within_** _ **,**_ **and it focuses on the continuing relationship between our favorite fire ninja and his love interest, a cute college girl named Sam. The relationship has been going on for several months at this point. Sam is going to be meeting one of the many villains that Kai and the ninja team face as part of their duty to protect Ninjago.**

 **I owe big thank-yous to the following authors, and I encourage everyone to check out their writings:**

 **1) measuremesky, a family member of mine, who gave me permission to use her material to create this story, and**

 **2) lovesgod12, for letting me borrow some material from Chapter 4 of her current great fanfic** ** _Lloyd's Story,_** **so that Sam can visit the same World History Museum founded by Clutch Powers in Chitow City. Thanks again, lovesgod12!**

 **Hope you enjoy this first chapter…**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 - A Villain Appears**

A warm fire burned in the fireplace of the Bounty late on a Friday evening in February. The flames illuminated the faces of the red ninja Kai and his girlfriend Samantha as they relaxed next to each other on the living room sofa, sipping hot cocoa topped with Bunny's Marshmallows.

Bunny's Marshmallows had been a regular item in the Bounty's pantry for several months now, ever since the day the couple had met in the toilet paper aisle of the grocery store. Minutes after that brief encounter, Sam had inadvertently left behind a purchased package of the white confections on the counter of the grocery store's self-checkout lane. Kai had found the package and brought it home to keep until he could figure out a way to return it to the cute blonde girl, whose name he didn't even know until the next day, when they ran into each other again - at the grocery store. The pretty college student had returned to inquire about her missing marshmallows, and Kai had returned with his teammate Jay to purchase a better brand of toilet paper that would feel more suitable to the sensitive posterior of the blue ninja.

That second encounter between the couple led to yet another one, and though that specific package of marshmallows did not survive more than a few days on the Bounty, thanks to a craving for something sweet on the part of Jay, the relationship between the fire ninja and the blue-eyed beauty endured.

Tonight, Sam sat on the sofa with her feet tucked under her. With her shoulders encircled by the right arm of the red ninja, she nestled against him. Kai's own feet were resting on the ottoman in front of him. His right foot was encased in a cast which Sam had decorated with yet another one of her smiley face drawings just a little while earlier.

Only about a month ago, the ninja brothers had been involved in a battle with Sebastian, an enemy of Ninjago who was actually just a few years older than themselves. Sebastian was a sorcerer but was only able to practice dark magic with the help of a sorcerer's ring. His father had been a master of sorcery who possessed the power of dark magic inside of him.

A few years ago, Sebastian had been looking forward to his 25th birthday, the day on which his father would officially pass the title of master of sorcery to his son, and Sebastian himself would then be able to perform dark magic without the help of the ring. However, before that day came, his father had been sucked into the Cursed Realm while trying to destroy Garmadon, the father of Lloyd, the green ninja. Sebastian blamed Garmadon for his father's fate, but even though Garmadon subsequently ended up in the Cursed Realm as well, Sebastian desired to take out his revenge on Lloyd.

Sebastian was unsuccessful in taking revenge last month, but he managed to escape capture by the ninja brothers. During the revenge attempt, however, Kai broke his foot and now had to wear a cast and maneuver on crutches for several weeks.

Kai's mobility was temporarily limited, but that didn't stop him and Sam from spending time together each weekend. Ever since they had patched up their relationship, which had hit a rocky period last summer while she lived on the Bounty during her internship at Borg Industries, they had made regular face-to-face communication between them a priority. So for the last few weeks, the Ninjago University student walked from her dormitory over to the Bounty to visit the red ninja.

"I'm going shopping tomorrow to get ready for my archaelogy class' overnight field trip to Chitow City. Can't believe it's next week already!" Sam said as she sipped her cocoa. "Professor Brown finally revealed the big surprise of the trip during our class today. On one of the days of our stay there, we're going to get a personal tour of the World History Museum from none other than Clutch Powers himself!"

Kai knew of Clutch Powers from his teammate Cole, who was a big fan of the great archaeologist. Dr. Powers had founded the World History Museum in Chitow City, several hours away from Ninjago City, and filled it with treasures and discoveries not only acquired by his own self but by renowned scientists and historians around the world.

"Cool!" Kai nodded. "Cole will be jealous! What day is it that you leave?"

"Tuesday, in the afternoon. And we're coming home on the redeye train that arrives back in Ninjago City on Saturday morning, so I should be back in time to celebrate Valentine's Day later that day," she grinned. "When I go shopping tomorrow, I might also be looking for a Valentine's Day gift for a certain someone. Is there anything special you'd like?"

The red ninja slowly turned his head to look at his girlfriend. "Who? Me?" he asked innocently, though his twinkling brown eyes made it clear that he was teasing.

"Oh, Kai, not this again," Sam laughingly protested. "You said that to me at Christmastime - remember? - when we all were going to Hayward's and I asked you what you'd like for Christmas!" To her, Kai had seemed especially mischievous that night as their group headed to Ninjago City's fanciest department store.

"Well, after that, I did give you an answer to your question, didn't I?" Kai grinned as he pretended to be indignant. "I said that the only thing I want is you and a nice cozy fire to sit in front of. Hey," he chuckled, "right now you're sitting here next to me and we're sitting in front of a cozy fire!"

"But, you know," he smirked, "when I talked about sitting in front of a fire, I meant more than just sitting." His one-armed embrace around her shoulders grew tighter as he leaned in closer to her, resting his forehead on hers.

Sam blushed, knowing perfectly well what he had meant back then and what he had on his mind right now.

But just like Sam had done that night at Christmastime when Kai seemed extra mischievous, she redirected their conversation. "You also said you wanted a new sweatshirt, which looks like it now has some hot cocoa on it," she pointed out to him. Indeed, the bright red garment that she had given him for Christmas, and that he was now wearing, was sporting a few fresh stains from the hot drink in his hand.

"Ack!" he exclaimed, pulling back from her in order to get a better look at the mess she was referring to. "How did that happen?"

"Here, let me go get something to wipe up with," Sam said. The blonde quickly leaned over the red ninja to set her mug of cocoa down on the end table before rising from the sofa and proceeding into the kitchen to retrieve a dampened paper towel. She tried to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb the sleeping residents of the Bounty, who had gone to bed over an hour ago. When Sam returned to the living room, she handed the paper towel to Kai.

"Thanks, Sam," he smiled at her as he immediately began dabbing his sweatshirt. "You know, I'm the one who should be asking you about Valentine's Day. Do you wanna go out to dinner? I should be getting rid of my crutches next week," he said.

If she did want to dine out, he hoped she wouldn't want to go to Mama Li's Italian Restaurant. That was the restaurant they had eaten at last summer on the night their relationship began to become unglued - the night he thought he spotted Skylor, his earlier love interest, on a street in downtown Ninjago City. He was glad to have reconciled with Sam since that night, but they had not returned to that restaurant. He thought that they should start going there again, so that they could begin to erase the association of negativity with a perfectly fine eating establishment, but Valentine's Day probably wasn't the best day to start.

"Sure, dinner sounds good," she replied enthusiastically as she seated herself on the sofa next to him once again. "Would you want just us to go or should we go in a group?" At Christmastime, Sam and Kai had gone on a triple date with Jay and Nya and with Cole and Brooke, Sam's dorm roommate who was now the earth ninja's girlfriend. The six of them had dined at one of the fancier restaurants in downtown Ninjago City.

Before Kai answered her, he examined his handiwork at wiping off the cocoa stains. "Good, they're almost gone. This sweatshirt needs to go in the laundry anyway," he muttered to himself.

Then, setting the paper towel on the end table, he turned toward Sam, encircling her shoulders with his arm as he was doing just a few minutes earlier. "Our triple date was fun, but on Valentine's Day," he softly replied to her question as he cupped her cheek with his free hand, "would it be OK if we let Jay and Cole come up with their own plans for their girlfriends, and just you and me celebrate by ourselves?"

And with that, he leaned in to savor the strawberry-glossed lips of the blonde-haired beauty next to him. He'd been anticipating the opportunity to do so all evening.

"Mmm-hmm," was all Sam could say at that point. She rested her arm around the red ninja's waist as they enjoyed the last few minutes of their evening together, exchanging sweet tokens of affection.

Sam eventually pulled away, reluctantly. "I probably should get going," she murmured.

Kai smiled, gazing into her soft blue eyes. "I suppose. You need to get your rest for the big shopping day tomorrow when you buy me all those presents!"

Sam playfully scrunched her nose at him as she rose from the sofa. "You never did give me any ideas, so don't be disappointed at what you end up unwrapping!" she teased as she helped Kai to his feet.

"You can surprise me and I'll surprise you," he smirked.

Despite his need to use crutches, Kai walked Sam to the door and helped her with her coat before she put on the winter boots she had left at the entryway when she had arrived at the Bounty several hours ago. She put her purse over her shoulder and then, upon opening the door, the couple was greeted with chilly air, and they discovered that light snow had started to fall quietly on the windless night. A thin layer of white already covered the ground.

"How peaceful," Sam commented.

Kai agreed. "Enjoy your walk home. I'll call you sometime between tomorrow and Monday night before you leave on your trip so we can finalize plans for next Saturday."

"Sounds good. 'Night, Kai."

"'Night, Sam."

After they exchanged one final goodnight kiss, Sam descended the steps of the Bounty and was gone.

Kai didn't close the door right away. He stood there and breathed in the crisp cold air, thinking of his girlfriend as he admired the distant lights of Ninjago City that could be seen through the gently falling flakes of snow.

"She's beautiful, inside and out," he smiled to himself. "How did I get so lucky?"

Suddenly, a flash of light erupted into the night sky. Its source came from a point beyond Kai's line of sight.

"What th-" he exclaimed.

And then he heard a blood-curdling scream.

"Sam!" he shouted.

As fast as he could on his crutches, Kai hobbled out the door of the Bounty and down the steps to follow her tracks in the light dusting of snow, all the while calling her name.

For about fifty yards, there was a straight path of her footprints.

Then he came upon her purse lying on the ground next to messed-up snow, and the trail abruptly ended.

As if she had been lifted up and carried away by something...

"Kai! What's going on?" exclaimed voices behind him. His four ninja brothers, awakened by his shouts, and concerned that the front door was wide open, had followed the tracks to reach him. They had hastily thrown their winter jackets over their pajamas to keep warm in the cold night air.

"It's Sam! I heard her make this horrible scream and now she's disappeared!"

Suddenly a giant ball of glowing light about ten feet in diameter appeared in front of them. Its brightness caused them to shield their eyes for a second.

"Hello again, gentlemen," a familiar voice greeted them.

"Sebastian!" Kai hissed.

"Yes, it's me," the voice chuckled. "Don't worry, I haven't come to fight this time. Instead, I have an offer you definitely won't want to refuse."

"Forget it, slimeball," Lloyd scoffed. "We're not interested."

"YOU may not be interested, my green friend, but I'm sure the red ninja will be quite interested."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kai demanded.

The voice chuckled again. "Allow me to elaborate." Another flash of light from the ball, even brighter than the last flash, temporarily blinded them. When their eyes recovered, they could see that the ball was now filled with the image of Sebastian standing there. In his arms he was carrying an unconscious form of a young woman - Sam.

"You monster! Let her go!" Kai yelled. He lunged toward the glowing ball but his crutches slipped on the snow, causing him to lose his balance and fall forward. Jay and Cole rushed to help him stand up again as Sebastian laughed heartily.

"Aww, true love is so sweet," Sebastian said mockingly. "Well, I will be happy to let her go, in about 24 hours from now, as long as the green ninja surrenders to me at midnight tomorrow night at the pier by Lake Ninjago. Otherwise..." Sebastian looked down at the unconscious Sam in his arms.

"What a lovely young woman. Someday she'll make a beautiful bride of some lucky man. Perhaps that man will be me!" Sebastian laughed again, especially when Kai lunged at him again. Cole and Jay held him back.

Then all of a sudden, Sebastian's mood switched from jovial to menacing.

"So you got it, Fire Boy? Persuade our green friend to surrender at the pier at midnight tomorrow, or else your girl becomes my girl, FOREVER!"

The glowing ball radiated one more bright flash, and then it disappeared into the quiet wintry night.


	2. Planning the Rescue

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Happy Thursday! I will publish new chapters to this story on Thursdays for the time being, at least through January.**

 **Thanks to lovesgod12, FirstFandomFangirl, and NinjagoMasterOfTheForce for commenting!**

 **Has anyone in the USA been watching Nexo Knights on Cartoon Network? At least six Ninjago voice actors are in it!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - Planning the Rescue**

Though it was one o'clock in the morning, the fire in the Bounty's fireplace still burned as it did earlier in the evening. But this time, the living room lights shone brightly and the sounds of gagging and disgust filled the air.

Sensei Wu had brewed a special tea which everyone on the ninja team needed to drink. For the next 24 hours, this tea would prevent the evil Sebastian from using dark magic to listen in on anything they were going to say. By drinking this beverage, they could plan the rescue of Kai's girlfriend Sam in secret.

Problem was, the stuff tasted awful.

Trying to get just eight ounces down was proving to be a chore. However, no one sitting around the living room dared say anything until everyone's tea was gone.

Jay was the last one to finish. "Having to drink this tea is giving me an extra reason to kick Sebastian's butt," he declared as he set his cup down.

Once that unpleasant beverage was taken care of, Sensei Wu began to brew himself a pot of more palatable tea while Nya started up a pot of coffee to keep them refreshed as they concocted a strategy to extract the pretty college student from the sorcerer's clutches and defeat her captor.

In the meantime, Cole called Brooke, Sam's roommate who was now the girlfriend of the earth ninja. He felt bad about calling her at such a late hour, but he needed to provide an excuse as to why Sam wouldn't be returning to their dorm room that night, or the next night either, for that matter. He told Brooke that Sam and Nya decided at the last minute to go to the artisan village of Hibiscus Falls, about a two-hour drive away, so that Sam could do some research for a paper in her art history class. Sam had talked about the paper earlier that evening. Cole also told Brooke that the ladies wouldn't return until Sunday.

Cole exhaled loudly after hanging up the phone. He was relieved that Brooke had accepted his fib. Cole hated lying to the willowy brunette, but the ninja couldn't risk alarming her or any other civilians about the fact that a known enemy of Ninjago was stirring up trouble.

* * *

Supplied with fresh coffee, the group in the Bounty's living room discussed the rescue of Sam from Sebastian.

"So, how exactly was Sebastian expecting ME to persuade YOU to give yourself up to him? To just tell you to do it and then you'd do it?" Kai wondered aloud to Lloyd. "How stupid is that?"

"Perhaps he was not using the word 'persuade' in its literal definition, which is to induce to believe by appealing to reason or understanding," Zane interjected. "Perhaps he was using the word in a colloquial sense."

"Yeah, like in THIS kind of persuasion," Cole said as he shook a clenched fist in the air.

Lloyd guffawed. "As if I'd be scared of a threat like that by Kai."

"Hey," protested the red ninja as he narrowed his eyes at his brother.

"That fist would have to make contact with Lloyd's skull and knock him out in order to get him to go somewhere he didn't want to go," Jay piped up.

"Jay, you're a genius!" Kai exclaimed. "Tomorrow night I'll pretend like I overpowered Lloyd and was delivering him to Sebastian."

"We can make it look like Lloyd's all tied up," added Cole. "Obviously, he wouldn't really be, 'cause we kind of need him to, like, fight."

Kai's broken foot, though it was propped up on the ottoman, was starting to feel uncomfortable due to the extra unexpected midnight exercise. He shifted his weight in an attempt to relieve the ache.

Zane noticed. "It is ironic that the one who would be falsely incapacitated will be presented to Sebastian by the one who is truly incapacitated," he observed.

Sensei Wu, who had remained silent throughout the conversation, spoke up. "Perhaps we can perform our own act of illusion for the manipulator of dark magic."

"What do you mean, Sensei?" Zane inquired.

"When the red ninja hands over the green ninja to Sebastian, we will give Sebastian the illusion that a weakened red ninja is handing over an even more weakened green ninja. But who is to say that Kai must be the red ninja and Lloyd must be the green ninja?"

Silence filled the living room for a minute as the team tried to absorb what Sensei had just said. Then Lloyd spoke, slowly.

"If I wear Kai's uniform and hood, Sebastian will think I'm the one with the broken foot and so he won't expect me to be a strong fighter. So I can go at him with full strength and catch him off guard."

"The element of surprise!" Kai exclaimed, remembering the time when Skylor had surprised her father, Master Chen, in order to get the elemental staff out of his hands.

Kai continued. "And I can wear Lloyd's green uniform and hood. I don't think Sebastian will be able to tell we've switched, even though he's expecting me to talk to him. It'll be dark and Lloyd and I will both have our hoods on, and there'll be some distance between Sebastian and us, so I figure he won't be able to tell that the one standing up is not the one doing the talking."

"Catching Sebastian off guard will be good, because this time all five of us can't focus on getting that stupid sorcerer's ring away from him." Cole continued the point that Lloyd just brought up. "One of us has to concentrate on rescuing Sam, and though I'm sure our pal Kai here would like to handle that all by himself" - he smirked at the red ninja, who blushed at the comment - "he's obviously not in top form at the moment."

"I believe that I would be the best one to focus on Sam's safe transition back into our custody," Zane suggested. "If Sebastian were to make a last-minute threat to her safety, such as to drop her in the icy lake, I am best suited to step in and handle that situation."

His teammates agreed.

"Then once she has been secured, I can join the effort to obtain the ring," the ice ninja added.

"OK, so Lloyd and Kai will wear each other's uniforms and go on the pier with Sebastian and Sam while we wait in the woods," Jay clarified. "Lloyd, while pretending he's Kai, makes sure Sebastian gives up Sam first. Right when that happens, Zane swoops in to get her to a safe place while the rest of us let Sebastian have it. I love it!" the blue ninja chuckled. "I'll give him an extra jolt because of that awful tea!"

"And no offense, guys, but I hope I'M the one who finally manages to get that sorcerer's ring off his finger. He certainly has put ME through some pain," Kai declared, shifting his weight once again in an attempt to make his foot less uncomfortable.

"Tell you what, buddy, whichever one of us gets the ring will toss it to you and you can have the pleasure of smashing it," Cole laughed.

"It WILL be a pleasure. Not having to worry about him bothering us ever again with his dark magic will be a relief!" Kai sighed.

"I suggest we get some rest now," Sensei Wu spoke up. "Tomorrow will be a long day."

Agreement echoed all around the living room as everyone stood up to go to their respective rooms. Nya and Lloyd helped Kai off the sofa.

"I'll take care of putting out the fire in the fireplace," Kai volunteered with a tinge of sadness in his voice.

Nya knew what he was thinking. "Don't worry, brother, she'll come back safe," she assured him as she gave him a hug.

"Yeah, Kai, everything'll be fine," Lloyd added, lightly punching his red-clad teammate on the arm. "Soon you and Sam'll be back on this sofa doing...whatever you guys do on the sofa," he smirked while dodging a swinging crutch as he left the room.

Cole and Zane offered their own words of assurance, patting Kai on the back as they departed. Jay did likewise, departing with his arm around Nya.

Sensei Wu faced his pupil and placed his hand on Kai's shoulder before he turned to go. "Have faith," the wise teacher advised.

"Thanks, Sensei," Kai replied with a weak smile as his teacher left the room.

Now alone with his thoughts, Kai set about extinguishing the fire in the fireplace. He pondered how the world can change suddenly.

Two hours ago, Sam was happily discussing her plans to go shopping on Saturday.

Now, who knew where she was or if she was even all right.

As Kai turned to leave the living room, he spotted their cocoa mugs on the end table.

His eyes narrowed as a thought came into his head, one he wished he could somehow transmit to Sebastian right then:

 _If you hurt her, I will hurt you in return. Count on it._


	3. Captor and Captive

**Chapter 3 - Captor and Captive**

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hope everyone's 2016 is going well! I am pleased to announce that I am currently working on a new story that will be published after Valentine's Day. My new tale takes place during Ninjago University's spring break, and it will focus on our favorite earth ninja!**

 **Thanks to MMM, lovesgod12, FirstFandomFangirl, and Princess Bunny for commenting on the previous chapter of this Valentine drama!**

 **In this chapter, the captor and captive converse...**

* * *

Sam woke up, finding herself lying under a stylish black and white comforter in a king-size bed located in a tastefully appointed bedroom. The whole room's color scheme was black and white, with accents of gray and red.

The headboard, dresser, and two bedside tables were made out of solid mahogany wood, as was the bookcase, which was located in the corner next to a black leather recliner chair. A mahogany door looked like it led to an attached bathroom.

Sam spotted her winter coat hung neatly on a valet chair. Her winter boots were lined up on the floor underneath.

To her horror, she realized something:

 _This is a man's bedroom._

The last seconds of her last memory from last night flooded back to her. _That blinding light...that guy with the weird grin...the smell of chloroform..._

A jingle of keys outside the main bedroom door interrupted her thoughts. As someone unlocked the door and opened it, Sam drew the comforter up to her neck and clutched it in fear.

In walked the guy with the weird grin, balancing a tray of food. Sam detected the aromas of bacon and coffee.

"Ah, good morning, my dear. I'm glad to see that you're awake," he said as he bent over to set the tray on a bedside table. "Here is some breakfast for you. I hope you rested comfortably last night. I find this bed to be better for my spine than the mattress in the guest room." He reached behind him, grimacing as he rubbed his back. "Last night's sleep reminded me of that."

In the daylight, Sam could get a better look at her captor. His pale, thin face and pale blue eyes starkly contrasted with his jet black hair and wine-colored lips.

As the man straightened up again and focused his gaze down on her, Sam recoiled. Nervous about his next move, she clutched the comforter more tightly. This did not go unnoticed by him.

"Oh, you poor, scared thing. I apologize for not introducing myself before now, especially since I already know YOUR name, Sam. My name" - he smiled - "is Sebastian."

Sam gasped and spoke for the first time. "You're the one that Kai and the other ninja fought just a few weeks ago!"

"You are so right," nodded Sebastian as he sat on the edge of the bed. "And how is Master Kai's foot healing?" he inquired pleasantly for the purpose of polite conversation, for he had already seen the red ninja on his crutches just last night.

Sam slid herself along the bed about two feet farther away from where the sorcerer sat and narrowed her eyes. "His foot is fine," she answered tersely.

"I'm glad to hear it, though I'm not surprised, with such a pretty nurse as yourself tending to him."

"What do you want with me?" Sam demanded, her eyes still narrowed.

"You, my dear, are serving as a bargaining chip. I have informed your beau that he must ensure the surrender of his green ninja friend at midnight tonight at the Lake Ninjago pier if he wants you back again."

"Kai would never do that to Lloyd. His True Potential was awakened when he realized he's supposed to PROTECT the green ninja," Sam protested.

"That is correct about his True Potential," Sebastian conceded, "but his jealousy of the green ninja simmers just below the surface and it boils over with the right catalyst."

"Oh, that's a bunch of baloney," Sam scoffed, dismissing his assertion.

"Ah, ah, ah," Sebastian countered. "I can give you two recent examples of when it happened. The first example happened on Chen's Island when Master Kai held the staff of elements."

Sam frowned. "I just heard a little about that. But I think whatever he said was the fault of the staff. It wasn't him."

"Very well. Here's the second example which you are much more familiar with. You can't deny he was jealous of Master Lloyd when he found out that you and the esteemed green ninja had kissed," Sebastian grinned in that weird way.

Pain shot through Sam's heart at the memory of her part in last summer's mess between her and Kai. "How did you know that?" she asked sorrowfully.

"My dear, I am a manipulator of dark magic, just like my late father. Obtaining information like that is mere child's play. I am able to access any conversation ever spoken."

Some of the air had been let out of Sam's spirit. Kai indeed harbored some jealousy toward Lloyd. Sam, however, continued to defend the red ninja. "He still wouldn't go so far as to betray a teammate."

Sebastian turned away from her and spent a long minute in silent thought, causing Sam's anxiety to increase with each passing second.

Finally, he turned back toward her, grinning that weird grin as he slowly replied, "Your defense of the red ninja is admirable, my dear. Clearly, loyalty is one of your many attributes which have caused Master Kai to develop such a fondness for you. Along with the attributes of intelligence...and beauty."

Sebastian stared at Sam with those fiendish pale blue eyes. She became alarmed.

"As I said earlier," the sorcerer continued, "I informed Master Kai that he must make sure that Master Lloyd is in my custody tonight. Otherwise, you will permanently become my lovely companion."

Sebastian slowly brushed a pale finger along Sam's cheek. She cringed.

"But as an early Valentine's Day present to myself, I have now decided to alter the terms of the agreement. Even if the green ninja is indeed surrendered to me tonight…"

He leaned his pale face close to hers and whispered ominous words:

"...you will STILL permanently become my lovely companion!"

Sam reached out from under the comforter and slapped his cheek as hard as she could. Her eyes blazed with contempt for the sorcerer.

Sebastian's grin disappeared. He forcibly grabbed her wrist and squeezed tightly. Sam gasped, wincing at the pain.

Sebastian's grin reappeared.

"Feisty, eh? I like a little spice!"

He dropped her arm and stood up from the bed.

"Being the gentleman that I am, I will give you an opportunity to say goodbye to the red ninja tonight at Lake Ninjago. Enjoy your breakfast, and I shall return in a few hours with your lunch." And with that, Sebastian left the room, closing the door behind him.

Sam heard a jingle of keys again. Obviously she was being locked back in by her captor.

Sam felt sick to her stomach. She turned her face away from the tray of breakfast food, the aromas of which now made her nauseous. She knew, of course, that Lloyd would not simply surrender, nor would Kai turn him over to the sorcerer as Sebastian had demanded. She knew in her heart that there was going to be another battle.

But this time, the ninja were at a disadvantage even before the battle, for the injured Kai was not currently able to fully defend himself or his teammates from attacks by Sebastian.

As she rubbed her sore wrist, Sam shuddered to think of what might happen at the pier tonight.

Or what might happen in this very room after that.


	4. The Confrontation

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Thanks to all the readers of the previous chapter and to the following commenters:**

 **FirstFandomFangirl - LOL! You're right - Chapter 3 did mention no less than three guys who have liked Sam! Guess she's catching up to Nya, who has been liked by Jay...Cole...Ronin...**

 **lovesgod12 - In addition to having Sebastian act like a creep, I tried to make him look like a creep, too. After seeing the movie _Star Wars: The Force Awakens_ , measuremesky and I stood in the theater lobby and agreed that the character Ren looked like how we pictured Sebastian.**

 **Naruby7 - LOL! You're right - I have tended to get Kai's foot injured! In both my Western story and this one, I needed Kai's mobility to be limited but not totally prevented. I'm still LOLing because in a future chapter of my other current story,** _ **The Fire Within a Ninjago Soldier**_ **, he's going to get injured again. But it won't be his foot.**

 **In the chapter below, the heroes and the villain meet once again...**

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - The Confrontation**

"Wow, Kai, you are one heavy dude," complained Lloyd in a quiet voice as he dragged the sled on which Kai was lying. It was late on Saturday night and they were making their way through the cold dark woods toward the Lake Ninjago pier and their rendezvous with Sebastian. Somewhere in the dark behind them, they knew the other ninja were following.

"Hey, I'm supposed to be Lloyd, remember?" Kai reminded him, also in a quiet voice. "I sure hope that _I_ remember. I have to act like you but talk like me."

"And by the way," the fire ninja added, "I am not heavy."

"Sh, we're about to leave the woods and reach the beach area," Lloyd whispered.

"OK, let me get in position first." Kai, who had been lying on his back with his hands bound behind him, rolled over on his side. The ropes that bound him looked tight but actually were loose in order to allow for quick participation in a battle. He looked toward his bound feet to make sure his cast wasn't showing over the top of the green boots he was wearing. The team had worked on making these boots earlier today because his cast wouldn't fit into Lloyd's boots.

Kai could see that everything looked alright in the front. "Is my cast hidden in the back?" he whispered.

Lloyd checked and whispered, "Yeah."

 _It's kind of weird to be dressed in a green ninja suit again after all this time,_ Kai thought to himself. A lot had happened since that first time, when they were still wondering who the green ninja was going to be.

Kai took a deep breath as a final mental preparation for the upcoming confrontation, and then he spoke quietly again.

"Lloyd, be sure to keep in mind two things. One, remember to limp a lot on that fake cast you have."

"OK, Kai. What's the other thing?"

"Don't get my uniform dirty."

"Loser."

Lloyd began to pull the sled again. They passed the vacant concession building and crossed the snow-covered beach to get to the pier. Staying on the beach end of the pier, Lloyd positioned the sled so that Kai faced him and would not be facing Sebastian when the villain arrived with his hostage. Though it was dark and the ninjas' hoods covered their mouths, they did not want to risk the possibility of Sebastian seeing Kai's mouth move.

After what seemed like an eternity but in reality was only a few minutes, the two ninja heard a distant swishing of oars in the water and the honking of some geese.

Sebastian and Sam were arriving in a rowboat. Though the portion of the lake adjacent to the shoreline was frozen, the geese who stayed around all winter happily continued to swim in the non-frozen waters. Some of them were honking as the intruding rowboat approached and disturbed their midnight exercise.

Lloyd knelt down as if his purpose was to adjust something on his cast, but he wanted to surreptitiously inform Kai about what was going on at the other end of the pier, out of Kai's line of sight.

"Sebastian is getting out of a rowboat at the pier's other end. Now he's helping Sam get out. She looks cold. Here they come." Lloyd stood up again.

Sebastian held Sam's hand as they walked to the center of the pier about thirty yards away from the ninja.

"Good evening, my red ninja friend. Lovely evening, don't you think?" Sebastian called out.

"Cut the chatter, Sebastian! Hand over the girl," Kai called back. The red-clad Lloyd tried to act like he had just uttered the words.

"I admire your bluntness," Sebastian responded. "I see you have upheld your end of the bargain. Was it difficult to fulfill?"

"I did what I had to do," Kai said. He was trying not to talk too much. Lloyd put his hands on his hips.

"Interesting. Well, I guess there is no reason to prolong our business here. Here is the girl."

Sebastian let go of Sam's hand. Facing her, he waved his hand and a glowing ball of light surrounded the young woman. Slowly she rose into the air. Sebastian extended his arm and, with an astonished look on Sam's face, she floated toward the ninja.

Suddenly, Sebastian flexed his forearm back and forth, as if swinging a tennis racket, which caused Sam to fly over the heads of Kai and Lloyd. The glowing ball that surrounded her passed through a wall of the vacant concession building behind them, disappearing from sight.

Lloyd immediately got a bad feeling. He used his foot to roll Kai over so that Kai could see Sebastian, and then he assumed a defensive position.

"You fools!" Sebastian exclaimed. "Did you really think I would fall for your silly charade? I could see the real fire ninja's breath in this cold air as he talked."

Kai mentally face-palmed himself. _How could we have been so stupid as to not think of that?_

"Now, in the spirit of love on Valentine's Day," the sorcerer continued, "I will allow Master Kai to give one last goodbye kiss to the young lady before I take her back with me to become my lovely companion forever."

With another wave of his hand, he formed a glowing ball around the green-clad Kai and waved his arm to quickly float the ninja over to the concession building. This ball also passed through a wall and disappeared.

Sebastian then created a huge glowing bubble over the concession building to seal off access in and out of it. Then, with a laugh, he called out:

"Roses are red,  
Violets are blue,  
Show yourself, ninja,  
So I can kill you!"


	5. Sebastian 2, Ninja 0

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Happy February! Valentine's Day is getting closer, so I'm going to publish chapters on Mondays and Thursdays of the next two weeks in order to finish this Valentine story by February 14.**

 **You may have noticed that a few days ago, measuremesky (a family member and fellow fanfic author) began an exciting new story titled** ** _A Degree in Danger_** **, in which the ninja go undercover as college students in order to catch some bad guys. I have read the first eleven chapters (three have been published so far) and they are great! So if you can read T-rated stories, I encourage you to check out this tale!**

 **As you know, the series of** ** _The Fire Within_** **stories chronicles the relationship between Kai and his love interest Samantha, as well as the relationship between Cole and his love interest Brooke.**

 **Now that the series is growing larger, here is a quick list of the stories, in the order in which they take place, and who wrote them:  
(mms=measuremesky, MNC=The Mayor of Ninjago City)**

 **1.** _ **The Fire Within**_ **(by mms)  
2\. **_**The Fire Within: The Ferris Wheel Incident**_ **(by MNC)  
3\. **_**A Degree in Danger**_ **(by mms)  
4\. **_**All I Want for Christmas: Cole's Dream**_ **(by MNC)  
5\. **_**The Fire Within: The Valentine Incident**_ **(by MNC)**

 **Of course, I am also the author of** _ **The Fire Within a Ninjago Cowboy**_ **and** _ **The Fire Within a Ninjago Soldier**_ **, but those take place in the 1800s.**

 **Thanks to lovesgod12 and FirstFandomFangirl for their recent comments on this Valentine story! You guys rock!**

 **In the chapter below, both Kai and Sam are now prisoners of the evil sorcerer...**

* * *

 **Chapter 5 - Sebastian 2, Ninja 0**

"Mmph!" was the sound Kai uttered as he landed on his back on the floor of the vacant concession building. At the time that the floating ball which had carried him into this wooden building had suddenly disappeared, he was already in a horizontal position, but he was two feet off the ground when gravity reclaimed its hold on him, and so he hit the floor with a thud.

It took Kai a second to process the rapid succession of events which had just occurred after the ninjas' attempt to deceive Sebastian was discovered by the sorcerer. Kai could hear the sounds of battle happening outside. A battle they had hoped to avoid.

Then he heard a moan nearby.

 _Sam!_

His girlfriend was lying on her back a few feet away from him.

His broken foot aching, Kai crawled over to her. Her eyes were closed. She apparently had hit the ground hard, too. Like the glowing ball that had carried him, the one that transported her must have somehow also put her in a horizontal position before it disappeared.

"Are you OK, Sam?" he anxiously asked, gently guiding a loose tendril of her golden hair behind her ear. At his gentle touch, Sam's eyes fluttered open.

The light of the outside glowing bubble shone through the windows of the concession building. Kai could see that when Sam looked up at him, her eyes had a hollowness to them.

"Kai, you're wearing a green uniform," she observed in a weak voice.

"It was part of our plan to rescue you and defeat Sebastian but, uh, I guess things didn't work out too well," he smiled ruefully.

Sam turned her eyes away from him and took a long, deep breath.

"Did he hurt you, Sam?" Kai asked the question to which he dreaded an affirmative answer. He reached for her hand to comfort her.

But when he touched her, she winced in pain.

"Let me see what's going on here," Kai said as he quickly shifted from a crawl position to a sitting position. He gently pushed her coat sleeve further up her arm to get a better look at her hand, and that's when he saw the bruises on her wrist.

Without having to ask Sam, he knew the bruises had been inflicted by Sebastian.

"What a monster!" he hissed.

"He IS a monster!" Sam exclaimed, bursting into tears. Fighting nausea at the recollection of the memory, she proceeded to tell Kai about how she had awakened earlier in the day in Sebastian's bed. Thankfully he had spent the night elsewhere, but he had let her know that he had changed his mind about releasing her as his hostage, even if Lloyd was turned over to him. Starting tonight, she would permanently become Sebastian's companion and be forced to fulfill his wishes...and she knew what sort of wishes he had in mind.

Not only that, but the odds of the ninja winning the inevitable battle seemed slim, and she couldn't bear losing her friends and her special guy.

As Kai listened to Sam's story, he was filled with renewed anger at the manipulator of dark magic. He also felt scared because Sam, judging by the increasingly lifeless look in her eyes, appeared to be resigning herself to a bleak existence as a prisoner of the meticulous madman.

"Sam, listen to me," he begged her, helping her into a sitting position. With a firm grasp on her shoulders, his eyes locked with hers in a steely gaze as he declared, "We are going to defeat that scumbag once and for all, and you are coming back with us tonight. Everything is going to turn out OK. Trust me."

He detected a flicker of hope in her blue eyes as she wiped tears away.

"Besides, I made a Valentine's Day dinner reservation for a windowside table at the Towertop Restaurant, and I'm not canceling it," he announced, grinning that adorable lopsided grin.

For the first time since her ordeal began, a smile broke across Sam's face. She leaned over and kissed him.

Kai would have liked to continue the kiss, but the ground rumbled just then, interrupting them.

"Good one, Cole," Kai complimented the earth ninja as if he were standing there. "Hope it did lots of damage to our magic friend. Now, let's figure out how we're going to get out of here."

Sam stood up and then helped Kai up.

They looked around the vacant concession building. The Ninjago City Park District personnel had done a pretty thorough job of cleaning out the place after the summer season had ended several months ago, so there wasn't much remaining. Just some empty wooden pallets in the food storage area.

Kai folded his arms and cupped his chin with his hand while he stared at the pallets.

"Got it!" he exclaimed after a minute, snapping his fingers. "I know a way to escape from here AND defeat Sebastian. But first, do you remember your Spinjitzu lessons from last summer?..."


	6. The Second Rescue Plan

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Happy Thursday! Only 10 days to Valentine's Day! After this chapter, there will still be four more chapters, so stay tuned next week for more "heart day" reading!**

 **Hey, lovesgod12 and FirstFandomFangirl! Your comments on the last chapter made me smile!**

 **In the chapter below, Kai carries out the plan he devised in the concession stand...**

* * *

 **Chapter 6 - The Second Rescue Plan**

Outside the concession stand, the battle raged. The cold night was filled with flashes of light and loud shouts.

Despite outnumbering their lone opponent, the ninja were finding it difficult to vanquish him, thanks to the powerful sorcerer's ring Sebastian wore on his right hand.

As if Lloyd didn't have enough problems trying to defeat the manipulator of dark magic, he had just done something that Kai had warned him not to do while wearing the fire ninja's red uniform. He had just gotten it muddy when he slipped on some wet leaves not covered by winter snow.

Zane hid behind a tree. As he waited for the next opportunity to get in a good shot at Sebastian, the ice ninja replayed in his mind the instant where Sebastian had levitated Sam and sent her into the concession building.

Zane asked himself if he could have done anything to prevent that move. After all, he had declared to his teammates that he was the best one to focus on Sam's safe transition back into their custody. Yet Sam was now sealed in the building by a giant glowing bubble. Zane sighed, glancing in the direction of the building.

Something about the building caught his eye. Upon peering intently at it through the transparent bubble seal, he realized with horror what was wrong:

The concession building was on fire!

"Fire! Fire!" he yelled and ran toward it, not caring that he was no longer hidden and thus was now exposed to a hit by Sebastian.

"Zane, are you crazy? What are you doing?" hollered Jay, who hadn't heard clearly what Zane had shouted.

"Whoa! I see what's happening!" Cole yelled back. "Fire in the concession building!"

"Sebastian! There's a fire in the concession building where you put Sam!" Lloyd yelled into the dark night. He knew Sebastian would be interested in the well being of his female captive.

He was right. The ninja and the sorcerer reached an unspoken truce as they all ran toward the burning building.

The ninja could only get as close as the bubble barrier, but Sebastian was able to walk right through the barrier and then into the flaming structure itself.

Sebastian found Kai with his hands on his hips, calmly standing over Sam. She was on her hands and knees with her head hung down, coughing. Thick smoke was quickly filling the room.

"What is going on here?" Sebastian demanded to know.

"If I can't have Sam, then you can't have her either," Kai coolly explained. "So I decided to set the place on fire to kill her and me together."

"You imbecile!" Sebastian exclaimed. With a wave of his hand he created a force strong enough to knock Kai to the floor, where he landed next to a support post. "Feel free to exterminate yourself, for I was going to take care of that later anyway, but she's coming with me now!"

Sam looked up, giving Sebastian a pleading look, and coughed some more.

"Let's get out of here, my dear," he lovingly said to her, extending his right hand.

She reached up with her own right hand and grabbed it, biting her lip at the resulting pain that her right wrist gave her. Then she used her left hand to grab on to his wrist as he pulled her up.

And then she utilized the kicking techniques that Lloyd began to teach her months ago on the Bounty during their morning Spinjitzu lessons.

Taking advantage of the momentum of being pulled upward, she kicked Sebastian in the chest, holding on to his sorcerer's ring as she did, so that his finger slipped out of it as he fell backward onto the floor. She turned and ran back to Kai, who had hoisted himself back up using the support post.

Without the sorcerer's ring, Sebastian could no longer use dark magic.

But he could still use his fists. He stood up again, intending to get his ring back.

"I swore to avenge my father's exile to the Cursed Realm by dispatching the green ninja, but before I attend to Master Lloyd shortly, I will dispatch this ninja with the green uniform!" he snarled.

Kai, with his own fists clenched and poised for punching, alternately eyed Sebastian and the open door behind the villain.

"Sam!" he called. "Make a run for the door while I deal with this clown!"

"No way, Kai," Sam responded, coughing. "I'm staying right here with you!" She knew that with his injured foot, he would need help battling the evildoer.

"Yes, you are a feisty girl indeed, my dear," Sebastian chuckled. "I hope you continue to exhibit that quality later tonight!"

Sebastian had not taken more than two steps toward them when a smoldering overhead beam dislodged from the ceiling and dealt him a glancing blow to his head as it fell to the floor, rendering him unconscious.

As the madman collapsed on the ground, the open doorway behind him suddenly filled with the four other ninja. The glowing bubble, which had covered the structure, had disappeared in the second the ring was removed from the hand of the manipulator of dark magic, allowing the ninja access to the facility.

Fulfilling his previously thwarted mission to transport her to safety, Zane grabbed Sam. Meanwhile, Cole grabbed Kai, and Lloyd and Jay grabbed the incapacitated Sebastian, and together they all exited the burning building.

After they had all retreated to a safe distance away, and the unconscious Sebastian had been unceremoniously dumped on top of a snowbank, the ninja high-fived each other in the light of the flickering flames, uttering shouts of joy and relief. Sam inhaled large gulps of the fresh crisp cold air, trying to catch her breath.

"So what happened to him?" Lloyd asked, eyeing the inert Sebastian.

"A ceiling beam hit him on the head," Kai explained, "but I think he'll recover."

"I will tend to his injuries," Zane said, kneeling down to assess the condition of the villain.

"And we'll make sure he can't do any harm when he wakes up," Cole added.

Jay crossed his arms and pouted. "Aw, he got defeated before I could give him a really good jolt!"

"Hey, Jay, you can zap his sorcerer's ring instead." Kai motioned to his girlfriend. "Sam got it away from him."

Sam held up the piece of jewelry, which she still possessed.

A small chorus of cheers erupted for Sam. She smiled happily as she gave the ring to Kai.

Everyone wanted Kai to smash the ring, but Kai decided that Cole, with his rock-lifting ability, would be best able to crush it beyond any chance of repair. They placed the ring on a flat surface while Cole located a huge boulder. Jay zapped the ring to get his tea revenge. Then, on the count of three, Cole dropped the heavy rock with a loud boom.

"My foot feels better already," Kai half-joked.

"OK, guys, let's take care of trussing up ol' Fussbudget here," Cole said, motioning his teammates over to where Zane was finishing his administration of first aid to Sebastian, who was still blacked out.

As Lloyd turned away to help the others secure Sebastian before he regained consciousness, Kai spotted the back of his red uniform.

Kai cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Lloyd, but why does my uniform have mud on the back?"

"Hey, Kai, you can't complain. You got MY uniform full of soot and stuff," Lloyd retorted, walking away. "That's worse!"

Kai tilted his head. "Good point," he admitted.

Flames were now shooting out of the windows of the burning structure. It wouldn't be long now until the whole thing collapsed.

"I guess I'll have some explaining to do about the concession building," Kai said to Sam as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

Sam sidled up to him and put her arm around his waist. "I think it makes a nice bonfire for toasting marshmallows," she teased as they watched the fire.

Kai swung her around to face him. Not wanting to touch her injured wrist, he carefully placed her arms around his neck and hugged her waist tightly.

"Marshmallows are good on cocoa, too," he teased back, remembering the beverage they had been sipping 24 hours ago in front of the Bounty's cozy fireplace.

Remembering something else they were doing 24 hours ago, he leaned in close to her, and his hungry lips sought hers once again.

Silhouetted by the conflagration, Kai and Sam kissed as the hot fire burned.


	7. The Day after Victory

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hope everyone's weekend is going well! Today I'm publishing the next chapter of this story so that it all can be posted by Valentine's Day.**

 **If you haven't yet had a chance to to do so, I encourage you to check out the story** _ **A Degree in Danger**_ **, written by measuremesky and featuring our favorite ninja as undercover college students. Measuremesky published the latest chapter yesterday. Her story takes place in the early fall, at the start of an academic year at Ninjago University, and my story here, which uses the same OCs (with her permission, of course!) takes place five months later, in the wintertime.**

 **As always, sincere thanks go to all the readers, favers, and followers of this tale, as well as the commenters on the previous chapter:**

 **FirstFandomFangirl - Yes, Sebastian will be spending time in prison, for at least the next two stories on my "drawing board." Then, in the story after that...oh, wait, is that a spoiler?**

 **lovesgod12 - Stay tuned for the chapter after this one...Sam visits the World History Museum!**

 **Kairocksrainbow - It's great to hear from you again!**

 **The chapter below takes place on the very next day after the defeat of the evil sorcerer…**

* * *

 **Chapter 7 - The Day after Victory**

When Sam woke up on Sunday, she woke on the Bounty in a familiar bed in a familiar bedroom. This was Nya's room, the one Sam had stayed in last summer while serving her internship at Borg Industries. Sam looked over at Nya's bed. The bed was unmade and the girl was nowhere in sight.

Sam was glad she had decided a while ago to leave an extra change of clothes, nightwear, and some personal grooming supplies on the ship, just in case an unexpected situation arose, such as if the winter weather turned bad while she visited. That decision to leave extra things here was coming in handy this weekend. There was no doubt that returning from a cold lake in the middle of the night after being rescued from a kidnapper counted as an unexpected situation.

Theoretically, the Ninjago University student could have returned to her dorm room, but she had not wanted to wake her roommate Brooke and invite all sorts of questions that would keep them both awake for the rest of the night. As long as Brooke had seemed satisfied with Cole's explanation of a trip to Hibiscus Falls as the reason for her absence until Sunday, Sam had thought it best to let Brooke keep believing it for the time being.

Because Sam had taken a long hot shower last night to wash away the smell of smoke from the burning concession building, she did not have to worry about showering now, which was good because she was already being slowed down a bit by her sore wrist. After freshening up using the extra grooming supplies, she put on the extra pair of jeans and turquoise T-shirt. Upon applying finishing touches using supplies in her purse, which Kai had retrieved from the snowy sidewalk late on Friday, Sam left the bedroom and entered the dining room where the ninja team, except for Sensei Wu, was already seated, eating their...lunch.

"Hey, sleepyhead, come join us," Kai waved. He thought to himself that she looked extra pretty in the color of turquoise. It accentuated the color of her blue eyes.

Amid greetings from the team, Sam sat down, next to Kai. The group was having a simple meal of sandwiches and chips and fruit.

"None of us wanted to wake you. That's why I left my bed unmade. We all figured you could use the rest," Nya explained.

"Thanks, guys. I do feel a little more refreshed," Sam responded, "which is good because this coming week is gonna be extra busy, with my archaelogy class' field trip to the World History Museum and all."

Talking about college classes reminded Cole of Brooke. "Hey, Sam, when are you going to tell Brooke about what happened this weekend?"

Sam thought about her roommate as she selected two slices of bread upon which to make her sandwich. "Well, I suppose I will when I get back to campus. I guess I'm a little afraid to tell her, 'cause I think she'd freak out, even though everything's OK now. Same with my parents, especially my mom."

Sensei Wu entered the dining area. "Hello, Sam," he greeted the recently released kidnap victim. "I heard your voice so I knew you had finally awakened. I trust you slept well last night after your ordeal."

"Yes, Sensei, thank you for asking," Sam replied respectfully.

"That is good," the wise teacher said. "You should know that your parents already have been informed of the events of this weekend," he stated, exchanging glances with the red ninja. "Kai and I telephoned them this morning."

Sam's eyes widened. "You did?"

"I felt that your family should personally hear about the events before they become publicly known. Right now Sebastian is securely in the custody of the Ninjago City police, and charges will be filed soon against him in Ninjago Judicial Court by the Judicial Council. When that happens, the events of this weekend, along with his other past transgressions, will become a matter of public record."

"And how did my parents react to what you told them?" Sam asked apprehensively.

"Well, they weren't exactly thrilled, especially your mom," Kai said.

"But they were assured by a certain ninja that he would be keeping a closer eye on their daughter from now on," Sensei Wu added.

Laughter echoed around the table, causing Kai's face to turn crimson and Sam's face to reflect confusion. To the others, it seemed impossible that Kai could keep a closer eye on Sam than he already did. Whenever the red ninja was not sleeping, training, or playing video games, he tried to spend the rest of his time talking on the phone to, or personally visiting with, his blonde girlfriend, as much as her busy schedule permitted.

"On a serious note, however," Sensei Wu continued, "I would encourage you as a civilian, Sam, to press kidnapping charges against Sebastian, but the decision to do so is entirely yours. He is already facing charges of serious crimes against Ninjago, plus a charge of battery for injuring Kai's foot, so there are plenty of allegations against him already. Just let me know and I will simply notify the Council."

"Yes, Sensei, I do wish to press charges," Sam nodded.

Just then, they could hear the phone ring in the control room.

"Very good, then. I will answer the telephone," said Sensei Wu, turning to leave. "I am expecting that the president of the Ninjago City Park District is returning my phone call."

As he left the room, everyone looked at Kai, who grimaced.

Sam carefully maneuvered a knife in the mayonnaise jar to obtain mayo to spread on her sandwich.

"Is your wrist feeling any better?" Kai inquired.

"A little. I think it'll be back to normal in a few days."

After a few minutes, everyone finished eating, except for Sam, and began to place their dirty plates in the dishwasher. Before anyone had left the room, however, Sensei Wu returned after his phone conversation with the president of the Ninjago City Park District.

"I have good news," he said. "The park district insurance policy will cover the cost of reconstructing the concession building because its destruction was related to the capture of a known enemy of Ninjago."

A chorus of cheers erupted from the team.

"What a relief!" Kai exclaimed, grinning.

"Kai, however, will have to give some talks on fire safety to the various groups of young campers at Lake Ninjago next summer," Sensei Wu added.

Everyone laughed, even Kai.

"If that's all they want me to do, that's fine with me. I'll be happy to," he said.

Eventually the team members left the dining area, leaving only Kai and Sam as the only occupants. He wanted to keep her company as she finished eating.

"I hate Sebastian!" Sam hissed through gritted teeth.

"Oh, what a news flash!" Kai teased her as he carefully swung his encased right foot over the dining table bench seat, straddling it to face her as she ate. "So what did he do now?"

"He used up my last chance to go shopping for a Valentine gift for you," Sam explained. "I still have to buy some things for the archaelogy trip, and I have to pack, and tomorrow I have classes all morning, and then I'll need to go to the library to check out some books so I can start on my art history paper on the train ride to Chitow City, and…"

She paused as Kai placed a finger over her mouth.

"Here's a simple solution. First of all, you know you don't have to get me anything, right?" he said. "But, if you think you must, then just bring me back a souvenir from the World History Museum."

She looked at him blankly, contemplating the idea in her mind.

"They have a gift shop, right?" he asked, waving his hand in front of her eyes, trying to get a reaction out of her.

Sam nodded in response. "And you'd be OK with that?"

"Sure." Kai took her non-injured hand in one of his hands. "Also, Miss College Student, you ought to know that history isn't just a bunch of boring facts," he said quietly, looking down at her hand as he gently rubbed his thumb along the top of it. "History is stories. Of famous people. Famous couples. Like King Romapolus and Queen Antonia."

He looked into her blue eyes, smiling. "So keep that in mind when you're shopping."

And with that, he leaned in and stole a kiss.

"Oh, Kai! We're in the middle of the dining room!" Sam laughingly protested, blushing as she pulled away.

"OK, I'll stop teasing, at least for a minute," the red ninja grinned. "Let me know when you're ready to go back to your dorm room, and I'll arrange for a taxicab. Cole and I'll go back with you, and together we can tell Brooke what happened this weekend."


	8. The Gift Shop Visit

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hi! Here is another chapter of my Valentine tale. I tip my hat to the all the readers and the following kind commenters on the last chapter: Kairocksrainbow, lovesgod12, and measuremesky (her first-ever comment on my stuff! XD).**

 **I also again tip my hat in appreciation to lovesgod12, who granted permission to use some material from her current story, _Lloyd's Story_ , particularly the World History Museum.**

 **In the chapter below, I put in a reference to something that has not yet happened in measuremesky's latest story, _A Degree in Danger_ , but has already happened by the time this chapter takes place, five months later. For those who may not know, measuremesky and I are family members, so we are constantly discussing Ninjago and our fanfics.**

 **So, without further ado...**

* * *

 **Chapter 8 - The Gift Shop Visit**

By four o'clock on Friday afternoon, Sam's archaelogy class was finished with all the lectures, slideshows, and tours on their field trip schedule, including the personal tour from the World History Museum founder, Clutch Powers. The last item on the class agenda was a group dinner to be held in a few hours with Professor Brown, but otherwise the students were free to spend their remaining time in Chitow City in whatever way they wished. Not much more time remained, however; the students needed to be checked out of their hotel at two-thirty in the morning in order to be on the train going back to Ninjago City at 4 am.

The museum gift shop was going to be open for another hour, so Sam followed Kai's suggestion and went inside to look for a Valentine present for him, as well as a group gift for the rest of the ninja team.

Except for two or three other customers, and an older woman who was manning the counter, the shop was quiet. Soft rock music from a local radio station was playing over the store speakers.

Finding a group gift for the ninja team was easy. The shop was selling popcorn tins which featured a photo of the World History Museum on the label and which contained popcorn with various flavors with archaelogy-themed names, like Bedrock Butter, Prehistoric Parmesan, and Ceramic Cinnamon. In addition to purchasing one to bring with her on the train, Sam decided she would arrange for one to be sent to her parents and little brother in her home village. The college student also picked out a box of specialty-blend tea for Sensei Wu. And, since she knew that Cole was a big fan of the museum's founder, she selected a T-shirt featuring an image of Clutch Powers standing on the building's steps.

Choosing a gift for Kai was proving to be more difficult. Sam wandered up and down the aisles of merchandise, searching for inspiration.

She came to an aisle of decorative candles. _Hmm, I might find something here_ , she thought. _After all, Kai IS the master of fire._

Scented candles...votive candles...battery-operated ones…all sorts were on display. Some had the museum logo imprinted on them. The written description accompanying one displayed candle, a 12-inch-tall intricately carved pillar type in a beautiful shade of red, claimed that it was a replica of one featured in an ancient legend. Sam stopped to study it.

The written description stated that centuries ago, a candle of this likeness was supposedly given to the warrior Romapolus by Princess Antonia in gratitude for saving her from...an evil sorcerer.

Sam laughed out loud in the gift shop at being reminded of the story of Romapolus and Antonia, which practically every Ninjago child was taught in school, and the similarity between Antonia's situation and Sam's own recent predicament.

"I didn't realize candles were so humorous," a voice behind her said.

Sam jumped upon hearing the voice, before realizing why it seemed familiar to her. She turned around. "Oh, uh, hello, Dr. Powers," she stammered.

"Hello, Miss...Miller," Clutch Powers greeted her. Sam was still wearing her "Hello My Name Is…" sticker with her name handwritten in the blank space, so he had obtained her last name by reading it. "I'm glad you find the gift shop cheery. I like to poke my nose in here every so often to make sure things are running smoothly."

"It IS a nice gift shop," Sam smiled. "And this candle is very interesting."

Dr. Powers picked it up to study it closer and refresh his memory as to the reason he selected it for the gift shop. "Did you know that there's more to the legend of Romapolus and Antonia than is usually taught in school?" he asked.

"I didn't realize that," she answered.

"'Tis so." Dr. Powers set the candle back down on the shelf. "You see, during the rescue of Antonia from the sorcerer, Romapolus was injured, and he also had used up all his light sources. While he recovered from his injuries at her castle, Antonia wished to make a new candle for him. And she wished to make the candle a pretty color, so she went outside in the dead of winter and found two withered roses still clinging to a rosebush. She boiled them in a pot of water, and the result was a dye of a beautiful shade of red, which she was able to use in forming her candle."

Dr. Powers continued. "When Romapolus was healed from the wounds he had sustained in the fight with the sorcerer, he accepted Antonia's gift of the candle. Then he told her goodbye as he left her castle to continue on the journey he was following."

"But when he lit the candle on his first night away from the castle, the scent emitted from it made him realize he was in love with the princess, so he returned to ask for her hand in marriage. She said yes, for she loved him in return, and they married and eventually became king and queen of the land," he concluded.

Upon hearing the part about the marriage proposal, Sam blushed. She hadn't admitted it to anyone, but she had considered what it would be like to have Kai propose marriage to her, and to live by his side as his wife.

A life with the fire ninja would pose challenges that were similar to those faced by spouses of soldiers, law enforcers, and emergency personnel - the constant threat of danger and extended periods of time apart from each other, to name a few.

In addition, she would no doubt be targeted by evildoers wishing to exact their revenge on the ninja. By simply being Kai's girlfriend, she had already experienced that. Last fall, she had been seized by a gang of vicious college students. And last weekend, of course, she had been taken hostage by Sebastian.

But Sam could not deny that her heart fluttered whenever she was near Kai. Those biceps of his were pretty impressive, and that adorable lopsided grin just melted her. But more important than his good looks were his optimistic demeanor and his unfailing ability to make her feel like a special person, especially during those times when she wasn't believing in herself. She so appreciated his wonderful qualities and constantly strove to express her gratitude for his kindness.

To Sam, the happiness of life as Mrs. Kai Smith would vastly outweigh the disadvantages. But she was not going to pressure him in any way to make that happen. The decision of when, or even whether, he wanted to propose marriage would be his alone.

"We probably should have been advertising these replica candles in the front window of the gift shop," Dr. Powers commented, interrupting Sam's thoughts. "These would make great gifts for Valentine's Day, but I guess since that is tomorrow, it's a little late to do anything about it this year. I'll go tell Marlene to make a note about doing that for next year."

"Well, thank you for sharing the story with me, Dr. Powers. I think I'll buy one myself," Sam said. She decided to get it because the candle was pretty, and the part of the legend about Antonia giving it to Romapolus in thanks for saving her from the sorcerer was rather humorously relevant. Sam wasn't going to tell Kai the rest of the legend that she had just learned.

Dr. Powers' eyes lit up. "Wonderful! Let me carry a box to the counter for you."

He selected a box from underneath the display and walked with it to the counter while Sam followed.

Placing it on the counter, he said, "Thank you for patronizing the World History Museum gift shop today, Miss Miller. Is there anything else we can do for you today?"

"Well, there is one thing I would like to ask, Dr. Powers." Sam held up the T-shirt she planned to purchase. "Could you please autograph this T-shirt for my friend Cole?"


	9. Date Night

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hello again, readers, and a special shoutout to TitaniumMasterOfAquaLightning, Kairocksrainbow, FirstFandomFangirl and lovesgod12 for your comments on the previous chapter!**

 **This chapter contains a few flashbacks to The Fire Within by measuremesky. See Chapters 46 - 50 and Chapter 32 of that story to read the original accounts of what happened.**

 **In the chapter below, it's finally Valentine's Day...**

* * *

 **Chapter 9 - Date Night**

From their windowside table at the Towertop Restaurant, perched on the thirty-ninth floor of the Adams Hotel, Kai and Sam enjoyed a bird's-eye view of a beautiful Valentine's Day sunset over the gorgeous Ninjago City skyline. On this Saturday evening, the fiery yellow-orange orb was just about to dip below the western horizon, yielding to the lavender hues approaching from the east.

As the couple waited for their meals to be delivered to their table, Sam finally felt like she could relax, for the first time in over a week. The last time she had felt relaxed was on the Friday night of last week, when she had shared the Bounty's sofa with Kai just before being kidnapped by Sebastian.

After that harrowing hostage ordeal, the college student had been been kept busy with the preparations for the multi-day field trip to the World History Museum, as well as the excursion itself. Then, coming back today, the train carrying the students back to the Ninjago University campus from Chitow City had arrived nearly four hours late, which then gave her less time to do all she wanted to do today.

The stressful situations continued once Sam had arrived back in her dorm room after the train ride. She had made a phone call to her family back in her home village to wish them a happy Valentine's Day and to tell them to expect to receive the popcorn tin. However, her parents had acted a bit weird. They sounded extra nervous, especially her mom. Sam attributed it to the shock they must still have been feeling about their daughter's kidnapping last weekend. She decided to call them back tomorrow, when she had a little more time, to have a deeper conversation.

Then it was time for a quick trip to Hayward's, the fanciest department store in Ninjago City, to find a new dress for tonight's date with the fire ninja. And tonight's date was going to start early, for Kai had made the dinner reservations for a time that fell a bit earlier than the typical dinner hour, precisely so they could watch the sunset. Unfortunately, Sam couldn't find anything suitable, so she grudgingly decided to wear a fuchsia dress from her closet that she had bought last summer.

The dress was of an appropriate Valentine color, and it looked very nice on her, and she had only worn it once before. And at the time Sam had purchased the hot pink garment, she had been excited about it, for Nya, her shopping companion, had assured her that Kai would love how she looked in it. But on the night she had worn it - on her date with Kai to Mama Li's Restaurant - it seemed like he had liked it at first, but then by the end of the night their relationship began to become unglued. So for that reason, plus the fact that the dress' fabric seemed a bit summery, Sam was not enthusiastic about wearing it tonight.

Fortunately, her fashion-crazy roommate Brooke was able to lend her a coordinating dressy blazer to wear over it, plus a matching scarf and coordinating bracelets, so the borrowed items gave the outfit a fresh feel.

* * *

Brooke had been dressing to go out on her own date with Cole when Sam asked for some fashion help, and Brooke was happy to assist her roommate.

Brooke admired Sam's ability to keep her recent brush with danger, in addition to the one last fall, from deterring her from seeing Kai. Brooke had been shocked last Sunday at learning from Sam, Kai, and Cole what had really happened last weekend instead of a trip to Hibiscus Falls, and it had crossed the brunette's mind that maybe, just maybe, she should break off her own relationship with the earth ninja, for it just seemed too dangerous to be around him.

But as Cole was saying goodbye to his girlfriend last Sunday, he assured her that he would do anything and everything to keep her from harm. And the earnestness in his dark brown eyes, and the protectiveness of his muscular arms wrapped around her, told her that he meant what he said. And she knew she could trust him.

* * *

If Kai felt any awkwardness about Sam wearing the fuchsia dress this evening, he certainly wasn't showing it. He had reached across the table for her hand as soon as they had been seated, and the only time he had let go was when they perused their menus. As soon as their meal choices had been selected, however, he sought her hand again and held on, even when the waiter came to take their order. He did not even want to let go to open her Valentine's Day gift to him while they waited for their food, preferring to wait until they went for a post-dinner walk in the tropical atrium on the hotel's ground floor.

So the gift Sam had purchased for the fire ninja stayed on the floor next to her chair in the red and white gift bag, remaining a secret to him throughout the time they enjoyed their delicious meals and an order of a decadent chocolate brownie Valentine dessert.

* * *

Because the couple had checked their coats at the restaurant's coat room when they had arrived at the restaurant, they simply left the garments there as they took the elevator back down to the ground floor to stroll, hand in hand, through the hotel atrium. The tall, green, lush plants which lined the walkways - plus the warm, moist air - was reminiscent of a tropical jungle, a welcome change of pace from the cold, wintry streets just outside the hotel door.

"You're getting around much better on your foot now," Sam observed after they had been walking for a while.

"Yeah. I'm glad to be done with those crutches," Kai commented. "And I can't wait till I don't need a cast anymore. But in the meantime," he grimaced a bit, "we may have to find a place to sit down soon so I can rest my foot. It's not too bad now, but I don't want it to get worse."

They found a bench overlooking the atrium pond, in which orange koi were peacefully swimming. Some overgrown jungle foliage gave the spot some privacy.

As they sat down, Kai eyed the red and white gift bag that Sam was carrying. "So, is there a million dollars in there?" he teased.

Sam playfully nudged him in his ribcage with her elbow. "Open it and find out!" she jovially commanded, thrusting the bag at him.

She watched as he removed the tissue paper and lifted out the box. "Aha! The World History Museum gift shop!" he exclaimed as he read the foil sticker that Marlene had attached to the box. "Who told you to shop there? Someone smart, I think!" he smirked.

This time he dodged the jab from her elbow.

"Romapolus and Antonia," he murmured as he read the outside of the box. "You know, there's a legend that says that the scent of this candle made Romapolus realize his love for Antonia."

Sam was shocked at his knowledge. "How did you know that?" she demanded to know, her face blushing.

"Right after my foot got broken and I had to keep it propped up, there was one day where I got so bored that I read past issues of The World History Museum magazine that Cole subscribes to, and the story was in one of the issues."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Clutch Powers personally told me about that in the gift shop, so I bet that article was written by him." She had told Kai about speaking with the famous archaeologist, but only as part of the personal tour of the museum.

"Wow, you talked to him in the gift shop, too? Cool." Kai was impressed. "I think that article I read was by him. It was on the inside back cover where his stuff usually appears." He examined the box some more. "This is really nice."

Kai turned to Sam and put his arm around her shoulders. "You were so worried about getting me something, and it's perfect. As usual." He touched his lips to hers. "Thank you for my candle," he smiled as he set down the box next to him on the bench.

Sam smiled back as she nestled under his arm. "And I want to thank you for a lovely dinner, and the candy, and the flowers." Back in her dorm room, a bouquet of roses was perched in a glass vase, next to a box of chocolates. Kai had presented them to her when he arrived to pick her up for their date.

"There is one difference between Romapolus and me, you know," Kai announced, grinning that adorable lopsided grin.

Sam chuckled. "And what is that?"

"I don't need the scent of a candle to realize I'm in love with you."

He leaned in close, and as he gazed into her beautiful blue eyes, he was once again grateful to see the love he had for her reflected back to him. There once was a time, at their picnic last summer when he had first tried to kiss her, when he had searched her hypnotic orbs and not yet found a sign that she felt the same way he felt about her. Since then, he had found his sign, and he was relieved to see it every time he looked for it.

Her blue eyes fluttered closed as he decreased the space between his lips and hers.

The taste of her warm, strawberry-glossed kisses always made him crave more of them. But after a few minutes of sampling her sweet tokens of affection, he paused. There was still one thing he wanted to do on this Valentine's Day.

"Sam?" he murmured, pulling away slightly.

"What is it?" she whispered, a bit breathless.

Kai swallowed hard before speaking. "There's something else I want to give you tonight."


	10. A Valentine's Day to Remember

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hey readers! Thanks for taking the time to check out my Valentine tale! And I wish to acknowledge TitaniumMasterOfAquaLightning, lovesgod12, Kairocksrainbow, Princess Bunny, and FirstFandomFangirl for your encouraging comments about the previous chapter!**

 **Flashbacks to measuremesky's _The Fire Within_ abound in the chapter below. To see the original accounts of things referenced below, see **_**The Fire Within**_ **\- chapters 5, 2, 46, 20, and 27.**

 **I've got a new story! Look for the first chapter of it to be published sometime next week. It takes place soon after the end of this story.**

 **Enjoy the conclusion of** _ **The Fire Within: The Valentine Incident**_ **. Have a great Valentine's Day, everyone! - MNC 2/13/2016**

* * *

 **Chapter 10 - A Valentine's Day to Remember**

Sam sat up straight on the bench after leaning against Kai. "Is everything OK?" she asked him, since he seemed so serious all of a sudden.

"Yeah." Kai put his hand in a pocket of his suit coat, the pocket which held a certain object. Just like on that second day he had seen her at the grocery store last year, adrenaline was coursing through his veins - both his mind and his heart were racing. _Now or never...now or never..._

Kai cleared his throat. "I just need you to close your eyes," he instructed her.

"Um, OK," she said as she complied in quizzical amusement.

When he saw her eyes were closed, he continued. "So, Sam, I want you to think back to the day we met. Remember what aisle of the grocery store we were in?"

"Yep," she smiled. "The toilet paper aisle!"

"And the next day at the grocery store, what sweet food did we talk about?"

"Bunny's Marshmallows," she chuckled.

"So you might say that, in a way, toilet paper and marshmallows are symbols of our relationship, right?"

"I guess so," she laughed, thoroughly confused.

Though her eyes were closed, she could feel him get up from his seat on the bench next to her. The next time she heard him speak, moments later, his voice came from directly in front of her.

"Well, I have another symbol," he said quietly. "Open your eyes."

When she did so, she saw he was bent on one knee in front of her and holding up a red velvet box. His soft brown eyes were filled with love for her as he said...

"Samantha Rose Miller, I'd be the happiest man in the world if you would accept this ring as a symbol of my love for you. Will you marry me?"

Sam's hand covered her mouth as he opened the box to reveal...

a diamond engagement ring.

Tears of happiness began to flow down Sam's cheeks.

"Oh, Kai!" she breathed. "YES!"

Kai's heart leaped with joy.

The girl he had accidentally bumped into at the grocery store those many months ago was now going to be his bride.

While Kai removed the ring from its box, Sam fanned her face with her hands in an attempt to compose herself. Then he gently took her left hand and carefully slid the ring on her finger. The diamond sparkled.

Sam briefly held up her newly adorned hand to admire the shiny piece of jewelry before redirecting her attention to the man who gave it to her.

"I love you, Kai," she whispered.

"I love you, too, Sam," he responded as he returned to his seat on the bench next to her and put his arm around her.

Their first kiss as an engaged couple was sweet and slow.

Kai and Sam smiled as they eventually pulled apart and looked at each other with new eyes, absorbing the reality that they were each now looking at their future spouse. Kai used the thumb of his free hand to brush away the remaining tears from her cheeks.

After a minute, Sam could trust herself to speak in a normal tone of voice without bawling. "This is certainly a Valentine's Day to remember!" she chuckled, sliding her arm across his waist as she nestled under his shoulder.

"I know, right?" Kai agreed, guiding a loose tendril of her golden blonde hair behind her ear. "Well, you've known how I've felt about you for quite a while now. But something you did last week really touched my heart."

Sam's uncertain look told him she couldn't guess what she had done, so he continued.

"I know it seems kinda wrong to bring a scumbag like Sebastian into the conversation now, but last week, after you chose to stay with me in the concession building instead of escaping, I figured that a girl who would stick by my side in a burning building against an angry madman is a girl who would stick by my side all my life."

Sam recalled the moment. She had not hesitated to make that decision to stay with him. It just came naturally.

Kai absentmindedly took a hold of her left hand and began fiddling with the engagement ring. "So, on Sunday, after Cole and I got back from escorting you to your dorm in the taxicab, I had a long talk with Nya about me and you. She said that ever since last summer, she'd secretly hoped that you were the one for me."

He continued. "On Monday I had a long talk with Sensei Wu about me and you. Of course, nothing I said was a surprise to him," he grinned, recalling how the wise teacher had remembered that Kai had skipped several training sessions without permission last year to meet the blue-eyed beauty at the grocery store.

"Then on Tuesday, after I knew you had left on the train for Chitow City, I called your parents to ask for their blessing before I proposed."

Sam gasped. "I talked to them this afternoon to wish them a happy Valentine's Day, but they were acting weird, and now I know why! They knew what was going to happen tonight!"

Kai chuckled. "They said they could come to Ninjago City next month, when you have your spring break from your classes and the weather is better, so that we could all meet in person. Unfortunately, with me being a ninja and all, obviously I'm not able to take a lot of time off to travel 'cause I'm helping to keep Ninjago safe."

"But don't worry - Sensei Wu said we'd be able to take a honeymoon trip!" Kai quickly assured her. Sam rolled her eyes and chuckled, blushing deeply.

Kai continued. "Then on Wednesday I told the team. They said they wanted to start right away to plan the bachelor party."

"I can imagine how that conversation went!" Sam laughed.

Kai kept fiddling with the ring. "Nya went ring shopping with me on Thursday. She and I agreed that this one reflected your personality the best."

"It's beautiful," his fiancee nodded.

Kai stopped his fiddling and wrapped his hand around hers. "So, Sam, how would you feel about having the wedding this summer, like maybe August?"

Sam tilted her head in contemplation. Unless there was an extreme heat wave, the weather in August would be decent. And she supposed six months was enough time for planning, if things like her wedding dress were kept simple - simple was more her style anyway.

But she had a concern. "Well, as of this summer, I'll only be halfway done with college…"

"And you WILL finish," he interrupted her with a firm voice. He was well aware that Sam was a very goal-oriented person, especially in her academic career, and that her dream job was to someday be a top executive at Borg Industries. "I promised your parents that I would make sure you get your degree. They felt very strongly about that."

He continued. "And if you're worried about expenses, well, at least we won't have to be concerned about housing. Sensei told me he'll likely retire in the not-too-distant future and open up a tea shop. So he's thinking of buying a parcel of land that would be big enough to hold the tea shop and the Bounty and some other buildings."

"And one of those buildings would be a little cottage for us," he smiled. "Sensei's been holding some money in trust for me and Nya - an inheritance from our parents' blacksmith shop - so I'll use some of that to build our place. I figure that if we did that, we'll be living close enough for me to keep being an effective member of the ninja team...and far enough away to have some privacy with you!" he grinned, giving her shoulders a squeeze. She blushed again.

"Oh, and just so you know," Kai said, clearing his throat. "Sensei told me that traditional protocols for the wedding of a ninja say that certain dignitaries across the land of Ninjago should be invited as a matter of courtesy, so that means we'll probably have to have the ceremony in Ninjago City at a place that's big enough to hold close to a thousand people."

"A thousand?!" Sam exclaimed. By her nature she was a somewhat private person, so being the center of attention of a group that size was a bit daunting.

Kai sensed her apprehension and rushed to calm her. "Just for the wedding ceremony, though! They don't all have to come to the post-ceremony celebration."

Sam thought a minute. "Well, maybe we could ask Pastor Neuman to officiate at the university chapel," she mused. She thought highly of the clergyman, who pastored the small church she attended on Lotus Street. Sam liked the cozy, old-fashioned architecture of the 100-year-old building and the small-town friendliness of the congregation in the middle of the big city. Because the church was close to the university chapel, Pastor Neuman sometimes served as a substitute pastor for the university chaplain.

"Sure," Kai concurred, patting her shoulder. "We could make an appointment to meet with him when your mom and dad come to Ninjago City next month."

He stretched his legs, noting that his foot felt better. "What time is it?" he asked her.

Sam checked her watch. "About nine o'clock."

"I was instructed by Nya to bring you to the Bounty at ten o'clock."

"For what?"

"Just a little Valentine party," he smirked. "With cocoa and s'mores."

Sam laughed. "I sense a marshmallow theme!"

Kai stood up before pulling Sam off the bench and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Yeah, we might be celebrating something else besides just Valentine's Day," he grinned. "Oh, and Cole is bringing Brooke. He was gonna wait till tonight to tell her about us 'cause he wanted to spare her the agony of keeping the secret."

"That was good thinking," Sam chuckled. "Hey, can we stop by my room first? Let's give my parents a call, and then I can gather up the museum souvenirs I brought back for the team."

Kai gave her a quick kiss. "Whatever you want, future Mrs. Smith!"

One kiss wasn't enough, however. He stole another one. And another.

"Happy Valentine's Day," he murmured.

"Happy Valentine's Day to you, too," she whispered back before his lips overtook hers once again.

Kai and Sam continued exchanging kisses as the fire within - otherwise known as the love in their hearts - burned strongly on Valentine's Day.

*** The End ***


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